Running To You
by Jeanne Carlton
Summary: When Toph decides to run away on the night of Zuko's wedding reception, the whole Fire Nation goes into a mad Toph hunt. With the world at her heels, and only a broken hearted Avatar to turn to, things get a little interesting in the time of peace.Review?


DISCLAIMER: Jeanne does not own any of these characters, the series or anything related to Avatar: the Last Airbender. TT ((All standard disclaimers apply))

Chapter 1 - It Begins

He was sitting on the railing of one of the highest balconies of the palace, his grey eyes steady on the courtyard below. His feet tapped to the lively music, his head bobbing slightly to the beat. People who would see him would think he was happy; a smile was on his face.

But the truth was that even though joy seemed to radiate from him, in his heart was a dull ache that no amount of laughter or good will from others could ever possibly heal.

Or so Aang, the Avatar, thought.

Down below the court yard, a celebration was occurring. A feast for the newly wedded couple. Amidst the varying hues of blue, green and red, it was easy to spot him, and... It was far easier to spot _her_.

The Fire Lord was garbed in robes of rich red, lined with gold and black, a display of true fire nation royalty. His black hair was up in his ponytail, and perched on his head was a metal insignia of his nation, the symbol of fire. He was a grown man of twenty and now the husband of Aang's dear _friend_.

The Fire Lady was Katara of the Water Tribe, one of the heroes of the Epic War that ended the reign of the evil that had tainted the world, master water bender and loyal friend to the avatar. Her gown was of blue, with soft white fur lining. Jewels decorated her hair, and on her neck she wore her grandmother's engagement necklace. She was of water, and now, as she gazed lovingly into the golden eyes of her husband, was of fire as well.

It was not like she could ever be his anyway; Aang thought numbly, he was the avatar. No strings attached, or the world dies and he'd be blamed. As an air bender, he was supposedly free, unbound to anything. As the avatar, he was to do the same. As the sixteen year old that he was, he was... lonely.

"Ei, Twinkle Toes," a voice said from behind him, shattering his thoughts, "Nice night, eh?"

So much for moping around, the air bender thought as the blind girl sat next to him. With Toph, there was little to none silence. Traveling with her for years had taught him that.

"Whatcha doing up here by yourself?" she asked him, "I mean, everyone's just down there congratulating Sugar Queen and Fire Breath. You'd think they'd have enough of that by now, jeez."

Aang looked at Toph, and was guiltily grateful that she was blind. At least the sightless girl couldn't see that the smile he had pasted on his face had frowned, and the tears that burned his eyes for far too long were beginning to brim on his eyes.

"Hey, I'm talking to _you_," Toph said, frowning slightly, "Am I talking to myself or what?"

"Sorry Toph," he began as he wiped away the tears, "I just had a lot of things in mind."

"Oh? Is this what air benders do when they get heartbroken?"

The monk stepped back, and looked away, "Heartbroken, _me_? You've got to be kidding me. I'm not heartbroken, nope, not me. I mean, why would I get heartbroken, its not like I'm in love with---"

"**Stop**."

The world stilled for that moment alone. Toph had raised her hand to stop him from mid speech. In that span of time, there were a dozen of things that came into Aang's mind.

First, it was very possible that the girl that stood before him could read minds. Or that she was just pretending to be blind when in fact she could see all too clearly right through him. Second, he found out that he was a miserable actor when he was depressed, and third, well. Toph wasn't a kid as he thought she was. Sometime around the four years he had known her, she had grown into...

Toph Bei Fong, the heiress of the vast Bei Fong fortune of Goaling and the world's greatest Earth bender. The black haired young woman looked different from the girl he remembered who traveling with all this time. Her hair was kept in a neat bun kept secure with a silk green ribbon, and the bangs that usually covered her eyes were gone, and for once Aang took notice of her face and... What she was wearing.

She had paint on sometime ago, he realized. There was a slight smudge on her eyelids, and a fading hue of pink on her cheeks. Maybe her hyper activities earlier that evening had somehow taken off the makeup. He had seen her mingle with the upper crust, and had joined with the children's activities just as easily without missing a beat. Either way, with or without the make up and that green gown that was doing wonders to her eyes...

She's beautiful; he thought numbly color creeping up to his cheeks. In her own way. He slapped a hand to his head. What was he thinking? Getting this attached to women was doing strange things to his system he didn't care for one bit.

Toph was a friend… and she's not any prissy girl a guy would fall in love with. Had he not known her at all, he'd have thought she was actually a guy… she sure acts like it most of the time.

A soft breeze stirred the stillness, and Toph put her hand down. Satisfied that he had somehow taken notice of her, she nodded. Her smile came easily to her face as she leaned back on the railing.

"Spare me the details Twinkle Toes," said she, "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I don't notice what's going on around me. Got the thing for Sugar queen, I get that. I think we all do. You'd have to be blind not to notice. Well, I mean, you know, except me, cause I'm already blind."

She laughed at her own little joke, and Aang couldn't help but smile... a little.

"Except her, I suppose." Aang muttered. "Then again, that's a good thing, you know, considering she's married now."

"Nah, I think she did notice," Toph replied, gesturing her hands for emphasis, "Girls pick that up way easy than you guys. Especially girls like Sugar queen down there. You usually go with clues and all that jumbo, technicalities, you know? Guys are usually an easy read. Act a little bit meaner, or stranger, and it's pretty obvious where everything else leads to.

Besides you're making yourself pretty obvious now, like a big wanted poster with a **HUGE** ransom on your head for a capture. I mean come on, Sugar queen's married to big and powerful Fire breath and you're up here moping. What's not to understand?"

"I... I see. Awkward..." The arrow tattooed young man scratched his head, then sighed, a grin on his face, "Am I really that obvious? Is that why you're here?"

"That depends. IF you mean I came here to make you feel better and you'd get all mushy on me, then no, that's not it." She made a face so weird that he had to laugh, "But if you mean the question before that being obvious, then I say yeah. _REALLY_ obvious."

Maybe that's the cure for clearing up your head after some major heartache was to shake your head a good number of times and have a friend analyze your situation. A friend like Toph.

He scratched the back of his head, smiled, and looked up to the heavens where a beautiful display of fireworks illuminated the sky.

"...So, why are you here?" he asked her after a few moments of easy silence.

She gave him a huge grin as she took a bag out of her robes.

"The old and stuffy were getting on my nerves," she began, wrinkling her nose, "Always saying, 'Ms. Bei Fong, I'm so pleased to finally meet you! How's the family business coming along?' or something like that."

"They're asking you to come back home for good now, right?" he said as she passed him some nuts. He popped a few in his mouth and nodded, "Woah, these are good. Candy coated. I wonder what'll come next…"

"I dunno, but Zuko wanted these spiced. The guy's all about the spice these days. Drove Katara crazy down there," Toph munched on hers and fell quiet for a short while. Aang sighed.

"Its okay, I'll get over this."

"…My father says that the war has been long over and the peace treaties have all been signed. I've been to all over, and the only place left is home." She said quietly.

"Do you want to go home?"

"I'd take sleeping on Appa any day Aang." she said.

She called him by his name rarely, and its usually to emphasize a point. The bomb was coming, and he somehow knew that it was all going to end with a farewell.

"You didn't answer my question Toph."

She fiddled with her robe a bit, her blind eyes looking away. "I don't want to go back. At first I wanted to take over the family business... But with this whole prospect of needing to stay in one place, being able to settle down and have brats of my own... I don't think I'm cut out for that. Not anymore." Her hands shook a bit, and dropped the small bag, scattering the nuts on the floor.

The sound echoed between them.

"Toph..."

"I want to stay with you, travel the world, and do something besides balancing checks I don't see… or settling down with a man who marries me for money, and would be a constant push over… Raising brats who'll waste the money my parents have on useless things, and will never ever understand that their…" she paused, "…mother was a hero during the war when she couldn't see."

Relief and worry mixed in him at that given moment. "Toph, you know you're more than the blind girl…"

She rolled her eyes, and jabbed a finger on his chest. "Don't bother comforting me Twinkle Toes, you've got your own issues. I've thought about that for the longest time, and have decided to not have any brats like that at all. I've been there before, the little secret of the Bei Fongs, the invalid. I'm **not** going back."

"What are you going to do then? You just cant disappear forever without noticing you Toph. You're the great Toph Bei Fong, heiress to the fortune of the Bei Fong line."

"Disappear..." she echoed, a small smile playing on her lips, "I'd like that."

"Like what?" Aang asked, clueless to what the blind girl was thinking.

Toph hushed him for a moment before she gave a little hoot, "That's it! Twinkle toes, you're a genius!"

"I-I am?"

"Yeah." Her grin spread wide on her face. "You're going to report me missing."

"WHAT? But you're here!"

Toph shook her head. "No, I'm not here."

"Yes you are!" he said, utterly confused, "I'm not getting any of this Toph, nor do I think I want to know."

"Exactly." she replied, clapping her hands. "You've always been a lousy actor. Once I'm gone, you tell the others that I've gone missing. You'll volunteer to search from the skies. Use Appa."

"Toph---"

"Just remember Twinkle toes, use Appa."

She stopped her foot on the ground, gave a loud scream, enough to make him tumble back, before getting swallowed by the ground. She grinned at him, winked, and was gone.

"**TOPH**!"

"Search the premises, find her! I don't care if you've looked at the spots thrice or more. I want each inch of this place looked. No one leaves the Fire Nation until I give word!"

The Firelord's order was like law. People continued to look for the young woman who had been reported missing by no other than the Avatar himself two nights before. The alarms had been sounded, and benders began to look under everything, including beneath rocks, for the black haired blind girl.

Firelord had his arm around his wife as he continued to bark orders, while Katara tried to calm him down.

"…Calm down Zuko, I'm sure she's alright," Katara said, patting his arm, "You forget she's Toph. She's the toughest girl I know."

"I'm perfectly aware of her capabilities Katara," her husband replied, "But do you see the implications of her disappearance? Disappearing in the Fire Nation. Just when we were about to seal peace to our land…"

Katara's blue eyes flashed for a bit, "You're worried about the image of the nation over the life of Toph?"

"Ofcourse I'm worried about… _Toph_," Zuko replied quickly, "But like you said, she's a strong person. Powerful. What I don't understand is how she could have been taken away when the security last night was as tight as can be. She's the most powerful earthbender. I simply cannot completely grasp the idea of some… rebel _**kidnapping**_ her."

The Fire Lady nodded, shifting her attention on the people seated on the long table before them. Six people stared back at her with worried, and sleepy eyes.

Iroh continued to drink his fifth cup of tea, adding another inch on his round belly while listening to Sokka's far fetched ideas who sat next to him. Across her brother was Suki, his fiancée, who was absently drumming her fingers, probably preoccupied with her wedding preparations. Jet sat next to her, studying a map of the estate, muttering side notes to himself. June, their hired bounty hunter, had a bag of gold in front of her, having arrived just a few minutes before. She was talking to Aang, who looked slightly unsettled by the many questions that June was asking him from across the table.

"…So you're saying you don't have anything she could've held that night?" The raven haired bounty hunter was asking the Avatar, "Or are you holding some part of the story back?"

Aang looked at Katara briefly before clearing his throat, "She was just swallowed by the ground, okay? I don't know what happened to her next."

June leaned back on her chair, a small smile on her dark red lips. "So you say, Avatar. Either way, I'm only here for the gold I'd be getting. The girl's really just troublesome, if you ask me. She'll be found as soon as I get my hands on one of her possessions. As soon as you saps let me do my job and leave."

"We appreciate you accepting this job offer June, Jet," Katara said before Zuko could retort, "And I assure you that you'll be well compensated for it. A servant had gone to the parents of Toph Bei Fong for a piece of garment she had worn some time ago, as we speak."

Iroh laughed. "Well said Katara. Now June, there is simply nothing to worry about. Would you care for a cup of tea while you wait?"

Zuko shook his head, "Uncle…"

"Old man, the day I drink that junk would be the day the oceans run dry," the young woman shook her head as a servant brought in a piece of green cloth, "…and that's my cue to leave. Ciao. I'll be back to get my pay."

"That's we." Jet stood up and nodded, "Let's go June."

Jet and June had become bounty hunters after the war ended. The two have been known to have retrieved everything and everyone they were hired to get. They were, as luck would have it, a pretty amazing pair.

"Don't get in our way," warned June, pointing at the Avatar and his party, "We're the professionals. We'll take care of this."

"We'll find her before you would!" Sokka said as the two walked away, June playing with the piece of cloth and Jet still studying the map, "We don't need you!"

"Sokka!" Suki and Katara said in unison.

"What?" The nineteen year old waterbender frowned, tapping his boomerang on the table. "I'm just saying we shouldn't trust that girl who wears too much make up and a guy who _betrayed_ us long ago."

"And what's wrong with makeup?" Suki asked him, an eye brow raised.

"Nothing when its on you Suki," Sokka said, his blue eyes lit with something close to fear. "Nothing at all."

Zuko cleared his throat, and had the four people and his wife, looking back at his direction.

"June's action is right. There's no more time for us to make anymore plans here. We need to spread out, look for any clues."

"But we've already done that a hundred times already." Sokka moaned, "Can't we just head out of this place and…well, look for her?"

Iroh patted his belly, "The Fire Nation's a big place Sokka, surely you've come to know that. If we head out right now without any clues as to where Toph will be taken, it'll be like chasing the Avatar before we were on your side."

The remark brought a few chuckles in the room.

"But…"

"Iroh's right Sokka," Katara said, seating herself beside her husband, "We should have a general direction to look for her."

"Oh, fine. But they're probably not here in the Fire Nation anymore."

"What made you say that?" asked his fiancée. "Zuko sealed off all the ports…"

"Well, think about it. Let's go back to the time where the war was still going on. When the Fire Nation learned that we were here, they attacked us from every direction, right? And we still managed to get off this place."

"But that was with Appa," Katara said, "And Zuko's guards have been trained better…"

Suki nodded, and turned her attention to the Fire Lord, "Is there a place in the Fire Nation that isn't as heavily guarded as this part of your land?"

Zuko took a while to respond. "…The south area where the old generals where sent to exile isn't that guarded. And some guards still harbor some loyalty issues. They might have taken the blind girl there."

"So we're going South!" Sokka said, jumping up, "Let's go."

"Wait for a little bit more Sokka," Suki said, "There may be another place they could have taken her. Did anyone, anyone at all, leave the party early? The kidnappers could have stowed away in one of their ships."

"There was a head count, and everyone was present at the end Suki." Sokka said, "I was there when they checked."

"Didn't Aang take Appa to the skies the night she disappeared?" Iroh asked suddenly, eyeing the silent monk, "Avatar, you're a little bit too silent today."

"Oh, me?" Aang squeaked, "I'm fine. Just, you know, thinking of angles of um…motives. Nothing suspicious. Just wondering where she is and all that. Oh, and where's Momo gone…"

"You're right…" Sokka said, "I haven't seen Momo in a long while. Where is that lemur?"

"Probably in my room, still sleeping, but you know, it never hurts to check." Aang stood up hastily, "Well, it seems like you guys have a general direction. South, right? I'll catch up. Momo's been really weird with the food here, maybe you know, unadjusted to the Fire crops… I'll get some more fruit for him, and then, catch up. Bye!"

The door clicked close, and the remaining people on the table looked at each other.

"Something's not right with Aang…" Katara said, worried, "He may still be a little unsettled with Toph's disappearance."

"I thought he always talked fast, but that was ridiculous." Zuko said, shaking his head.

"It was like he was rushing off to somewhere…"

Sokka nodded, "But Aang's right. We should be heading south."

"South. I'll make the necessary preparations." Zuko said, leaving the room.

"I'll inform the Kyoshi warriors to search the outskirts. I have this strange feeling she's still somewhere close." Suki said, excusing herself, "Sokka, are you coming?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll stock up on some jerky on our way to their camp…"

Once everyone has left, Katara turned her attention on the old general, her Uncle-in-law, and frowned.

"You know something."

Iroh looked at her, and patted her shoulder fondly. "Sometimes, some things aren't all that they seem to be."

"What do you mean?"

Iroh shrugged. "I don't really know, but it sounds good, doesn't it?"


End file.
